Register for the conference here.

General Information

This year the main conference theme is 'Interpersonal Violence' which, for the purpose of the conference is broadly defined as 'Deliberate and non-consenting physical, emotional, psychological or sexual harm perpetrated to one or more individuals by one or more persons'.

Thank you to all who have submitted abstracts for papers and/or posters. We have received more than 120 submissions and will be notifying contributors the week beginning May 6th of the outcome of our deliberations.

Keynotes

We have four fantastic keynote speakers confirmed for this year’s conference:

Understanding, Assessing, and Managing Violence Risk: The Movement from Formula to Formulation

Presenter: Professor Stephen D. Hart, Simon Fraser University and University of Bergen

Description: The past two decades have seen an explosion of research on violence. Much of this research – too much – may be characterized as “black box empiricism”: It assumes that violence is the outcome of causal processes that are not only unknown but unknowable, and favours statistical prediction of violence over understanding. Yet, there are signs the field is increasingly recognizing both the limits of predictionism and the importance of theory and conceptual clarity—or, as I have characterized it, moving from formula to formulation. In this talk, I will discuss the nature and applications of formulation, compare and contrast the major approaches to formulation of violence risk, and describe research underway and planned that evaluates the reliability, validity, and practical utility of formulation. I hope to justify my optimism that formulation will not worsen the schism between scientists and practitioners, but rather will provide a framework to facilitate both practice-relevant research and evidence-based practice.

Keynote to take place: Tuesday 3rd September

Sexual Offending and Firesetting: How People Change

Presenter: Professor Theresa A. Gannon, Centre for Research and Education in Forensic Psychology, University of Kent

Description: Ten years ago, I researched male sexual offenders’ cognition almost exclusively. Today, however, my research has diversified to include broader aspects of male sexual offending as well as female sexual offenders and offenders who set fires (firesetters). What links all of this research together? In this talk, I will give examples of the research I have been conducting with offenders and will link these diverse research streams via the concept of how people change. The research I talk about will include: an evaluation of the mandatory polygraph as a supervision tool for sexual offenders in the UK community, an evaluation of female sexual offenders’ offence styles, and a description of an ongoing project examining (1) the potential treatment needs of firesetters, and (2) the effectiveness of a new treatment programme for firesetters called the Fire Intervention Programme for Prisoners (FIPP).

Keynote to take place: Wednesday 4th September

False confession research. What does the evidence tell us?

Presenter: Professor Gisli Gudjonsson,Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London.

Description: The science behind false confessions began in the early 1980s with the work of Gisli Gudjonsson and James MacKeith in England, who invented the term ‘memory distrust syndrome’, produced a conceptual framework for evaluating cases of disputed confessions, analysed in detail cases of proven false confession, and developed instruments for assessing relevant psychological vulnerabilities. Parallel to this work, in the USA Saul Kassin and Lawrence Wrightsman (1985) provided a theoretical framework for conceptualising false confessions into voluntary, coerced-compliant and coerced-internalized types. This was followed by the work of Ofshe and Leo (1997), Drizin and Leo (2004), and Garrett (2010), who have analysed in detail a large number of established cases of false confession in the USA. In addition, experimental work has been conducted into false confessions by Saul Kassin and colleagues, which has been complemented by studies into reported false confessions among prisoners and mental patients, people interviewed at police stations, and a number of large epidemiological surveys into reported false confessions. This work has demonstrated that false confessions are more common than previously thought, they are typically multifaceted in nature (e.g. due to a combination of circumstances, police/custodial pressures, psychological vulnerabilities, and lack of support and advice), the inability to cope with interrogative and custodial pressures are typically the most salient vulnerabilities, and detailed and persuasive incriminating facts that are attributed to defendants and used against them at trial as them being in possession of ‘special knowledge’ often originate from the police. The science base behind false confessions is now substantial and has impacted on legal judgments internationally.

Keynote to take place: Wednesday 4th September

Analysing Forensic Processes: Taking Time into Account

Presenter: Professor Paul J. Taylor, University of Lancaster, UK and University of Twente, NL

Description: A great deal of theorizing in our discipline concerns ‘processes,’ ‘stories,’ and ‘interpersonal dynamics.’ Yet, few researchers study these concepts in a dynamic way. In this talk I will show the value of studying forensic processes as processes. I will review some recent efforts, discuss some of the methodologies involved, and highlight some of the theoretical breakthroughs that have emerged as a result. I will show: (i) how research on public violence has benefited from studying incidents as patterns of cues and responses among perpetrators and bystanders; (ii) how regularities in the histories of those who undertake serious crime may be identified by mapping their life events on a graphical timeline; and (iii) how sequence-based correlation coefficients make it possible to test detailed theories about police-suspect interactions that take us far beyond a ‘right strategy’ approach. I will conclude by arguing that studying forensic processes as a sequence of events rather than a collection of variables is necessary if our discipline is to flourish.

Keynote to take place: Thursday 5th September

Workshops

This year we are delighted to offer the following pre and post conference workshops:

• 'The HCR-3’: Prof. Stephen Hart, Whole day event, Monday 2nd September
• ‘Interviewing in Forensic contexts’: Dr Caroline Logan, Whole day event, Monday 2nd September
• ‘Understanding and working with victims of domestic violence’, Alan Gibson and Dr Erica Bowen, half-day event, Tuesday 3rd September
• ‘UK immigration law and domestic violence’ Smita Bajaria, Half-day event Friday 6th September

Fees: £150 per delegate

Half-day fees: £85 per delegate

We also have available a further two half-day workshop slots vacant so if you would like to contribute a workshop please contact Dr Erica Bowen on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Symposium

The EAPL is also pleased to announce the inaugural Wagenaar Symposium which will be a feature of all future EAPL conferences. The aim of this symposium is to showcase the interdisciplinary nature of EAPL by drawing together research that spans the legal (detection, trial) and psychological (support, intervention) aspects of a particular crime-type. Participants in this symposium will be by invitation only, and the symposium will feature a discussant in order to draw out the salient issues from the portfolio of research presented. There will also pre-conference workshops available on interpersonal violence risk assessment, and on interviewing in forensic contexts.

Students and Early Career

The EAPL hopes to call attention to high-quality student research (undergraduate, masters, and doctoral) and facilitate student involvement in the field. In line with this, the EAPL will host a number of events intended for student and early career members at the 2013 conference. There are also a number of student awards available for this conference, including two travel awards and a “best paper” award for which students need to enter their submissions before the conference (each worth 150 euro), and three poster awards that will be determined during the conference (worth 200, 150, and 100 euro respectively). Undergraduate, masters, and PhD level members are eligible for this funding. For more information on student involvement at the 2013 conference visit www.eaplstudent.com.

For information on applying for student awards click here.

We look forward to seeing you in Coventry.

Click here for a PDF of the call for submissions.

Submit your Abstract

Abstract submission is now closed and those who have submitted have been notified by email. If you have not received an email, please follow up with Erica Bowen regarding the status of your submission. For more information on the conference, go to https://www.eventsforce.net/eapl2013.

Register for the conference here.

About Coventry

Situated at the heart of England, the City of Coventry lies in an area surrounded by some of the most attractive countryside in the County of Warwickshire. The City is within easy reach of Kenilworth with its ruined sandstone castle, Leamington Spa with its Regency and Victorian terraces, the county town of Warwick with its famous Mediaeval Castle and the Tudor town of Stratford upon Avon, which is now a shrine to the English playwright William Shakespeare.

The City of Coventry is also a popular tourist centre, being noted for its contrasting ancient mediaeval and modern architecture. Symbolic of this feature is the siting of the new Cathedral adjacent to the ruins of the old. The University enjoys the facilities and attractions of the City Centre, and is situated directly opposite the new Cathedral.

Coventry is easily reached by road, rail and air, there being a half-hourly intercity rail service to and from London, taking just over an hour, and the International Airport at Birmingham is only 15 minutes away. There are also direct coach and rail services operating between Coventry and all the UK major airports.

Top 10 things to do in Coventry

How to get to Coventry

Coventry is very close to Birmingham International Airport (10 min via train). There is also an airport in Coventry, but not many airlines are operating there. Visit the Skyscanner website for cheap flights.

Alternatively, it is possible to fly to London and continue the travel via coach or train. See the Coventry University website travel pages for general travel information.

Coach services, which directly approach Coventry from most airports within the UK, can be found on the National Express website while the train connections are accessible at the National Rail website.

Accommodation

Note: The official conference hotels have not yet been determined. This information will be released as it becomes available.

• 

  ABC Motels (4 min walk to Coventry University)
• Ibis (10 min walk to Coventry University)
• Formule1 (10 min walk to Coventry University)
• Britannia Hotel (2 min walk to Coventry University)
• Travelodge (5 min walk to Coventry University)
• Premier Inn (10 min walk to Coventry University)
• Ramada (10 min walk to Coventry University)

University campus map

 

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Student Conference Initiatives

Our very active student section hosts a series of academic and social events at each EAPL conference, and presents poster awards and travel awards.

Find out more about the student section conference awards here.

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Future EAPL Conferences

We will be pleased to invite you to join us in Russia in 2014.

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Previous Conferences

• 1988 - Maastricht, The Netherlands

• 1990 - Nuremberg, Germany

• 1992 - Oxford, England

• 1994 - Barcelona, Spain

• 1995 - Budapest, Hungary

• 1996 - Siena, Italy

• 1997 - Stockholm, Sweden

• 1998 - Krakow, Poland

• 1999 - Dublin, Ireland

• 2000 - Limassol, Cyprus

• 2001 - Lisbon, Portugal

• 2002 - Leuven, Belgium

• 2003 - Edinburgh, Scotland

• 2004 - Kraków, Poland

• 2005 - Vilnius, Lithuania

• 2006 - Liverpool, United Kingdom

• 2007 - Adelaide, Australia

• 2008 - Maastricht, The Netherlands

• 2009 - Sorrento, Italy

• 2010 - Gothenburg, Sweden

• 2011 - Miami, USA

• 2012 - Cyprus

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Conference Views

Cyprus 2012

EAPL 2012 conference sign between two palm trees.

 

Andreas Kapardis (EAPL 2012 local conference organizer) with international guests.

 

Julia Shaw (website officer), David Cooke (past president), Ray Bull (president-elect), Annelies Vredeveldt (VP EAPL student society).

 

David Cooke giving the EAPL 2012 presidential welcome.

 

Ray Bull with conference presenters at the EAPL 2012 conference dinner.

 

Miami 2011

David Cooke (EAPL president) with members of the EAPL student section.

Gothenburg 2010

Andreas Kapardis, Caroline Logan, Mette Kreis, David Cooke, and Ian Freckleton

Sorrento 2009

Local Organising Committee

 

 

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Conference book series

Major results of the EAPL conferences have been published in a book series. The following volumes are available:

• van Koppen, P.J. & Hessing, D.J. (Eds.) (1988). Lawyers on psychology and psychologists onlaw. Amsterdam: Swets & Zeitlinger.
• Lösel, F., Bender, D., & Bliesener, T. (Eds.) (1992). Psychology and Law. InternationalPerspectives. Berlin: de Gruyter.
• Davies, G., Lloyd-Bostock, S., McMurran, M., & Wilson, C. (Eds.) (1995). Psychology, Law, and Criminal Justice. International Developments in Research and Practice. Berlin: de Gruyter.
• Redondo, S., Garrido, V., Pérez, J., Bajet, J., & Martínez, R. M. (Eds) (1997). Advances in Psychology and Law. International Contributions. Berlin: de Gruyter.
• Boros, J., Münnich, I. & Szegedi, M. (Eds.) (1998). Psychology and Criminal Justice.International Review of Theory and Practice. Berlin, New York:Walter de Gruyter.
• Traverso, G.B. & Bagnoli, L. (Eds.) (2000). Psychology and Law in a Changing World. New Worldwide Trends in Theory, Research and Practice. Reading: Harwood Academic Publisher.
• Czerederecka, A., Jaskiewicz-Obydzinska, T. & Wójcikiewicz, J. (Eds.) (2000). Forensic Psychology and Law. Traditional Questions and New Ideas . Kraków: Institute of Forensic Research Publishers.
• Farrington, D., Hollin, C. & McMurran, M.(Eds.) (2001) Sex and Violence. The Psychology of Crime and Risk Assessment. Reading: Harwood Academic Publisher.
• Roesch, R., Corrado, R. & Dampster, R. (Eds.) (2001). Psychology in the Courts. International Advances in Knowledges. Reading: Harwood Academic Publisher.
• Vanderhallen, M., Vervaeke, G., van Koppen, P.J. & Goethals, J. (Eds.) (2003). Much ado about crime. Chapters on Psychology and Law. Brussel: Politeia.
• van Koppen, P.J. & Penrod, S.D. (Eds.) (2003). Adversarial versus inquisitorial justice: Psychological perspectives on criminal justice systems. New York: Plenum.
• Canter, D. & Žukauskien, R. (Eds.) (2008). Psychology and Law: Bridging the Gap. Ashgate: London.